I find myself drawn back to these old wood frame shotgun houses in the Ville, dating back probably to as early as the 1870s, when this was a rural village named Elleardsville. The African-American middle class was shoved into these crowded houses, but they still thrived. Now they’re going up in flames, for whatever reason,…
Tag: The Ville
The Ville and Western JeffVanderLou, Revisited, Late July 2016
The old trolley company building has sprouted a new work of art. I do not know who did it, but it brightens up this abandoned building. I get sadder and sadder every time I drive or walk through the Ville. It is suffering and falling away.
The Ville, Revisited, Late November 2015
We drove through the Ville neighborhood last week, and I was disappointed to see that the neglect and deterioration has continued. Once the isolated “suburban” town of Elleardsville, the Ville became the center of the middle class in the African-American community. Unfortunately, due to segregation, the housing stock is old, much of it just after…
Burn Out, The Ville
This happened recently. It’s always hard to see houses that you’ve seen before in good condition be reduced to a burned out shell.
St. Matthew’s Parish Church, The Ville
The beautiful parish church of St. Matthew sits right on the border between the Ville and the so-called Greater Ville. It is a masterpiece of German Gothic Revival architecture, and is still in operation at the present time.
Little Brick Houses, The Ville
I have always thought that that the proportions and scale of one story houses in St. Louis are more aesthetically pleasing and cogent than their two or three story brethren. They are beautiful little masterpieces, providing a slice of the middle class life to hundreds of thousands of St. Louisans. The Ville is no different;…
Brick Rustling, The Ville
Watch this interview with the local alderman about brick theft in the Ville.
A Missing Tooth, The Ville
There is something sad but also poetic about the void in between these two identical houses. Their shared neighbor, which probably looked like them, is gone, leaving a void.
Two Modernist Oddities, The Ville
Modernism crept into the Ville a little bit, with this cool apartment building, which interestingly would have probably faced another building in close proximity, and not the current vacant lot. The porches on the end are what make this building unique. Meanwhile, more to the northeast, there’s this interesting, and very sturdily built house that…